Tuesday is primary day in Saint Paul, Maplewood and White Bear Lake. Primaries will be held in Saint Paul in Wards 2, 4, 5 and 7. Maplewood has two at-large positions available, and White Bear Lake has primaries in Wards 1 and 3. To find out who has filed for office in 2007 in Ramsey County, go to www.co.ramsey.mn.us/elections/CandidatesWhoFiled2007.htm, the Ramsey County elections web site. To view candidates’ responses to your Chamber’s issue questionnaire, go to http://www.voteforbusiness.com/gotv/. You can view the Maplewood City Council Candidate Forum hosted by your Chamber on local cable channel 19 on September 8 at 3 p.m.; September 9 at 9:30 p.m.; September 10 at 8 p.m.; and September 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Many East Metro city councils will set their maximum property tax levy next week. By state statute, all cities must set their levy by September 15. The Saint Paul City Council is expected to adopt the Mayor’s proposed levy, which is a 14.6% increase, as the maximum. Our Local Fiscal Policy Committee will continue to provide input on city and county budgets between now and early December when the final budget is set, with the goal of lowering the cost of doing business throughout the East Metro.
Your Chamber’s Transportation Funding Task Force met Wednesday with the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Because transportation funding has been a priority issue for your Chamber for the past five years, we continue to seek a solution that provides significant and steady funding streams for both roads and transit while ensuring Minnesota remains a competitive place to grow and create jobs. With a special session dealing with transportation funding still uncertain, we will adopt a policy on this issue at the October Board of Directors retreat.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to small businesses located in Ramsey, Hennepin, Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott, Sherburne and Wright counties that are economically affected by the I-35W bridge collapse. Eligible businesses may qualify for loans up to $1.5 million with interest rates at 4 percent. Call SBA Customer Service at 800.659.2995 or for loan applications go to www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.
The Vadnais Heights City Council voted Tuesday to reconsider the Village at Vadnais Heights redevelopment – a 311,000 square foot retail center that included 11 new retail shops and restaurants and a new Wal-mart Supercenter. Citing new information from Wal-mart and Target officials, the council majority voted to reconsider the project. Thank you to those members who voted in favor of reconsideration: Sue Banovetz, Laura Dobozenski and Joe Murphy. The next step is a special council meeting and public hearing set for September 25 at 7 p.m. on the proposal.
Your Chamber is disappointed the Bridges of Saint Paul appeal by JLT Group to the Saint Paul City Council was rejected Wednesday night 5-2. At this time, JLT Group has said there is no other viable option for the site. Your Chamber thanks Council members Dan Bostrom and Debbie Montgomery for their continued support of the Bridges of Saint Paul, as well as strong support by the business and labor communities.
Please join me for a round of golf at the Rochester Country Club on Monday, October 8! We will board a bus at the Chamber in the morning and enjoy good food, good golf and good networking. To register, go to www.saintpaulchamber.com or call George at 651.265.2795.
Your Chamber’s suite at the Xcel Energy Center is available to lease for the College Ice Breaker Tournament, October 12-13, $1,750; Bruce Springsteen, November 2, $4,750. Each event includes 16 tickets. Contact Stephanie Moore at 651.265.2786 or stephanie@saintpaulchamber.com.
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